So vast is the occasion for the exercise of benevolence towards the aged or the infirm, and for the exertion of care towards the poor, and the ignorant, in a country like England possessing at once a crowded and an enterprising population; and so numerous are the efforts made to alleviate the sufferings or to meet the wants of the poor and the helpless, of the needy and the ignorant; that it would require no ordinary-sized volume to render ample justice to a subject like that which this chapter presents. But interesting details may be here given. To convey, however, some idea of the immensity of the subject—of the varied and extensive ramifications of charitable provision and benevolent caution, it may not be amiss to commence with stating that in and about the metropolis there are at least
45 free schools, with perpetual endowments, for educating and maintaining near 4,000 children.
17 other schools for deserted and poor children.
237 parish schools, supported by voluntary contributions, &c., in which about 10 or 12,000 boys and girls are constantly clothed and educated.
3 colleges.
22 hospitals for sick, lame, and pregnant women.
107 alms-houses for the maintenance of aged persons of both sexes.
18 institutions for the support of the indigent of various other descriptions.
20 dispensaries for the gratuitous supply of medicine and medical aid to the poor.
Besides these various institutions and establishments, each parish has, as already stated, a workhouse for the occupation and maintenance of its own distressed or helpless poor. And exclusive of this list, the several livery companies of the city of London distribute above 75,000l. annually in charities: and there is multitude of institutions, of a less prominent nature than the foregoing, which render the total of charitable donations immense. The sums annually expended in the metropolis for charitable purposes, independently of the private relief given to individuals, have been estimated at 850,000l. The hospitals were chiefly funded by private munificence: some of which are endowed with perpetual revenues, and others supported by annual, or occasional voluntary subscriptions. The alms-houses were built and endowed, either by private persons, or corporate bodies of tradesmen. Many of the free schools owe their origin to the same sources.
The magnitude of the buildings dedicated to public charities, and the large revenues attached to them, are, in some cases, striking objects of admiration, and richly deserve the minute examination of the intelligent visitor of London; and the general administration of them confers peculiar honour on the capital. Their interior regulations well accord with their exterior magnitude. In the hospitals, &c., the medical assistance is the best which the profession can supply: the attendance is ample: the rooms are generally very clean and wholesome: and the food is very proper for the condition of the patients. The alms-houses, and other institutions for the support of the aged and indigent, exhibit not merely an appearance, but the real possession, of competence and ease. From some of the free schools, pupils have been sent to the universities as learned as from any of the most expensive seminaries : and all the scholars receive an education adapted to the stations for which they are designed. We shall first notice those charities which more strictly come within the meaning of public endowments; but although they are now chiefly known as public schools, the charters and endowments of most of them contain provisions for the aged and infirm.
Source: Leigh's New Picture of London. Printed for Samuel Leigh, 18, Strand;
by W. Clowes, Northumberland Court. 1819